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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced (pdf) that since November 13, 2009, it has temporarily held certain applications of individuals seeking to become lawful permanent residents until the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccination criteria becomes effective on December 14, 2009. Under the new CDC criteria, vaccines for herpes zoster (zoster) and human papillomavirus (HPV), will no longer be required for immigration purposes. The held applications were submitted by applicants who would have been denied a visa because they failed to demonstrate that they had received the zoster or HPV vaccination.

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The New York Daily News reports that the U.S. is moving toward ending its ban on HIV-infected foreigners entering the country. New regulations would not require HIV testing for various travel visas or permanent residence exams. The HIV travel ban started in 1987, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, but scientific and social advances have decreased concerns about the disease’s transmittal.

Congress proposed new regulations during George W. Bush’s final year in office, and with current administration backing the ban might be lifted by year’s end. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is currently seeking public comment on the matter and final say will rest with the Department of Health and Human Services.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is seeking public comment on a set of proposed criteria to be used in determining which vaccines, among those recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the United States’ general population, should be required for immigrants seeking admission into the U.S. or seeking permanent residence status. These specific criteria will be applied against each vaccine, rather than requiring all ACIP recommended vaccines for immigration purposes.

Through a notice (PDF) published in the Federal Register on April 8, CDC has proposed the following criteria:

• the vaccine must be an age appropriate vaccine as recommended by ACIP for the general U.S. population, and
• at least one of the following: (1) the vaccine must protect against a disease that has the potential to cause an outbreak, or (2) the vaccine must protect against a disease that has been eliminated in the United States, or is in the process for elimination in the United States.

The deadline for submitting written comments is May 8, 2009.

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